


reparation

by jeweledcalzone



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Rivalry AU, al n nat were childhood friends but now they hate each other, bc nat was a total bitch to him lol, cheerleader natalya, football player alfred, high school au!!!, i love it, i'm gonna write real belamano soon tho i swear, it's cute I swear, possible sexual tension ohohoho, the belamano is only on the side???, typical nat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-14 00:10:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7991428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeweledcalzone/pseuds/jeweledcalzone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>inspired by a rivalry au from dailyau on tumblr!!</p><p>Alfred and Natalya hate each other. All out name calling "you dress bad", "yeah well your passes suck ass", "your cheers aren't any better", any insults you can think of, they've said to each other. </p><p>But it wasn't always like this. When Alfred says something he truly regrets, the rift between them blurs as they try to navigate their way through senior year.</p><p> </p><p>(will be updated on saturdays)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> haha so i'm rly lazy with summaries n titles n notes n shit sorry
> 
> but um yeah alfred is like a good guy but nat also ruffles his feathers the wrong way so he's learned to be just as nasty as her lmao
> 
> also thank you sm to my beta lucanwrite!!! ahhh!! i'd be lost without him haahah

There's always a line you cross, a line you don't know is there. It's often hidden and you don't know of its existence until you say something you regret.

What Alfred had just said was the perfect example of that.

"God, Natalya, I hope you don't use that mouth of yours to suck off the rest of the football team!"

Alfred had yelled this phrase in front of the whole cafeteria, while staring Natalya straight in the eyes. Her expression morphed from one of anger to one of mortification and pure hate. There was another emotion hidden beneath those two, one that he couldn't exactly put his finger on until she ran out of the cafeteria. The lunch room was silent for a moment.

"Jones!" A voice roared, and Alfred turned to see a large guy storming towards him. It was Natalya's older brother, Ivan. One of the best players on the hockey team, Ivan stood at an impressive 6'2" with the kind of muscle a guy would kill for. His eyes were blazing with fury and it took six football guys to hold him back.

* * *

 

It had never been like this before. Alfred and Natalya used to be friends, right up until high school. Something had changed in Natalya's way she viewed him and she didn't like it one bit. For whatever reason, he never knew, she'd antagonize him, call him names, and make offhand comments about his weight, height, and appearance. It was terrible and for awhile he never had any good comebacks. But soon, puberty hit late for Alfred and he went from lanky benchwarmer to star quarterback on the football team. Along with growing in height and muscle, he also grew a pair and learned to snap back at her. The annoyance and anger he felt when she talked to him was normal, but he always hated that he never seemed to get under her skin like she did his.

* * *

 

"Hey, Al, now would be a good time to run," Gilbert said, giving him a light shove off towards the open lunch room doors. With a short nod, Alfred jogged out, leaving behind a bewildered student body and a snarling Ivan.

Alfred went down a few side hallways, and came to rest outside of a classroom. Leaning against a wall, he caught his breath and listened to the quietness of the school. It was nice and relaxing, and he was just about to close his eyes and enjoy the silence-

There was a slam. A godawful one, like someone's body being shoved against a locker. There was quietness, but only for a second. He heard voices, faint from where he was. Following the sound, Alfred peered around the corner.

Three hockey jocks were huddled around a smaller figure, two jeering at it and one keeping it in place.

"Get your fucking hands off me, you pig!" The smaller figure cried, and Alfred realized with a jolt that it was Natalya. Her skinny arms beat the guy's chest, but to no avail. The ringleader's goons laughed cruelly and Alfred gritted his teeth. Right as he was about to jump out and interrupt them, Natalya firmly kicked the ringleader in the lungs, causing his grip to loosen.

She took off down the hall, right towards Alfred's little hiding corner. The two goons were hot on her trail, and were just about to grab her by the hair when Alfred snatched her out of the way. He kept an arm around her waist and held her close as the hockey jocks turned the corner.

"Beat it," he sneered at them, still keeping a tight grip on the girl. The ringleader glared at him.

"Why do you guys get all the fun with her? Sharing is caring, yeah?"

Alfred one of his fists clench, and resisted the urge to punch the guy. "She's not a goddamn object, you misogynistic asshole!" He growled, "And don't think I won't tell Ivan and Matthew about this."

"Hey man, no need to act rashly-" The guys began protesting, fear flickering in their eyes as Alfred began to walk away.

"Beat it, jackasses." He snapped, turning slightly. "Unless you want me to be the first to take a swing at you."

As soon as the guys were gone, Natalya shoved Alfred away, catching him only slightly off guard. "That was your fault." She hissed angrily and Alfred didn't dare deny it. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. After a moment, Alfred turned to her.

"Are you alright, Natalya? You're shaking." He finally replied, his words sincere. He had realized what was in her eyes when she was running: fear. The hatred fueled fire in her eyes died out a bit, and she looked down at her shaking hands. She flexed them, and gripped the bottom of her shorts.

"I'm fine," she muttered, and shoved past him. "Just leave me alone."


	2. Chapter 2

_It was the last few days of eighth grade. Classes were showing movies while trying to keep the kids engaged while some snuck off or ditched the last week. In between Math and English, Natalya searched for Alfred who was her seat buddy and best friend. They usually walked to English together, but he wasn't at his locker or at his last class._

_Eventually, she gave up and just went to class. Natalya took two steps into the classroom, but immediately backed out when Arthur said her name. He was sneering at Alfred and Natalya clenched her fist. What an uppity jerk._

_“Why are you still friends with her, Alfred?”, Arthur asked him. Alfred opened his mouth to respond and fidgeted uncomfortably._

_For once in her life, Natalya doubted Alfred. The look in his eyes was unmistakable. He usually had a similar look when trying to make a hard decision; for example, playing video games with Nat or doing his homework. Nat or everything else. This time she hoped it would be the same, especially because he normally chose her over everything else._

_“I don't know, man. She's kinda pathetic, I guess I just feel bad for her.”_

_The words Alfred uttered snapped Natalya's heart in two and her grip on the door frame tightened a bit._

_Alfred shrugged in accompaniment to his words. “I mean honestly, she's rude and has no other friends besides me. She's going to be a nobody in highschool and I really don't want to be there with her. Me, on the other hand, I'm gonna be the star quarterback,” he grinned at Arthur, who seemed to nod in approval._

_Natalya had heard all she needed to hear, and ran down the hall. Her breath came in short panicked gasps and she felt tears threatening to spill. Alfred was no different from all the other rude boys in her grade, and she was a fool for thinking he was special._

* * *

Natalya still hated Alfred, despite his earlier heroic actions. His previous words from eighth grade still haunted her, and she was convinced that she would never forgive him.

  
As she walked away from him, Natalya could feel his eyes practically burning holes in the back of her head.

* * *

"How can I help you, sweetheart?" The school's nurse asked kindly, scanning the girl up and down.

Natalya's eyes darted to the side, not exactly sure what to tell the nurse, "A bad day then?"   
  
Natalya nodded without an ounce of hesitation and the nurse quickly wrote her a pass. "Thanks."  
  
"I hope the day gets better, dearie. They usually do." The nurse waved to her as Natalya exited.  
  
After showing the pass to the secretary, Natalya quickly left the school with only her phone and car keys. Even before getting in her car, Natalya sent a few quick texts to some choice people.

* * *

**Nat - > Liz**  
Nat: hey, pls bring me my backpack k thx bye   
  
**Nat - > Bro**  
Nat: hey don't hurt alfred he helped me out, spare him for once k thx

* * *

Natalya slid into the front seat of her car, and took a rather relaxing drive home. She left the music off, and just let herself wallow in her thoughts for awhile. When she thought about it, the whole situation was technically her fault; if Natalya hadn't spurned their friendship freshman year, her and Alfred would still be friends. Probably.

* * *

As soon as Natalya made it through the front door, the smell of chocolate cake wafted towards her nose. Katyusha was in the kitchen happily humming to herself as she took a cake out of the oven.  
  
At the sight of her little sister, her eyes lit up,"Natalya! I baked you a cake because Vanya texted and said you didn't have a good day. I hope you like it once it's cooled off!"  
  
As usual, Katyusha's overwhelming positivity blew back Natalya's negative emotions, and she felt a faint smile tug at her lips. "Thanks, Kat. Just the smell has made my day better."  
  
"I'm glad! Ah, Vanya said that...Alfred said something not so great," Katyusha's gaze lowered a little bit, and Natalya frowned, "I thought Alfred was the nice boy from when you were younger,"  
  
Natalya frowned a bit. “I used to think that too.”  
  
There was a long pause as Katyusha studied her younger sister. Natalya was so young, but there was an underlying pain in her words. Half the time, Katyusha thought she was talking to much older person than an 18 year old girl.  
  
"Natalya, what happened?" She asked quietly, and Natalya's eyes met hers.  
  
“Doesn't matter," She said simply, and left it at that.   
  
Katyusha didn't pry, and began to ice the chocolate cake.

* * *

When Matthew pulled Ivan aside during practice, he was rather confused at first. He was the co-captain on the team and there was no way he was messing anything up! Unfortunately, what Matthew had to say was way worse.

  
"Hey Ivan, I know you're mad at Alfred right now,but he just texted me to tell you that a few guys on the team were messing with Nat,” Matthew said calmly, but Ivan noticed that his eyes told a different story. He was furious.

Even though Alfred and Natalya weren't on the best terms, Natalya had still been friends with Matthew for quite awhile. Matthew also knew that Natalya wouldn't have a grudge against anyone for no reason, and knew his brother well enough that he must've said something pig-headed enough to set her off like that.   
  
"Did Alfred give any specific names?" Ivan asked, spitting out the quarterback's name like it left a rotten taste in his mouth.  
  
"Yeah, it was those three that are always benched." Matthew said, pointing out the perpetrators. They cluelessly skated around, but once or twice they would nervously glance over at the two captains, "Alfred said they had her pinned against the lockers, but he scared them off. Has Nat told you anything?"  
  
Ivan clumsily pulled his phone out of his pocket, and paused to tug off one of his gloves with his teeth. With his mouth occupied by the glove, Matthew could only understand muffled mumbles that were tinged with annoyance. Ivan spit out the glove, and nodded slightly. "She only told me not to hurt Alfred. I won't, for everyone's sake," After a slight pause, he tossed his phone to the side and shoved his glove back on, "But no one will care about them."  
  
"Calm down big guy, you can do that later," Matthew warned,"After practice, when they've been lulled into a false sense of security."  
  
Ivan glared a little, but Matthew seemed rather unaffected by the look of hostility. "However, that doesn't mean practice won't be hell for them. Before you knock some respect into them, give me a call, will you? They can't mess with Nat like that and get away with it."  
  
"Sure thing, Matt," Ivan replied, grinning a bit. He stepped back onto the ice, and smoothly skated over to the rest of the team. “We’re scrimmaging the rest of practice.”

Half the team groaned while the other half cheered, and Matthew began strategically dividing them up. He put the three guys on one team and left him and Ivan on the other. Following them he filled in the rest of the players and sent the respective goalies to their goals.

The scrimmage, in Matthew and Ivan's minds, was a success. They had slammed the creeps more times into the plexiglass than they could count, but barely brushed the others on their team.

After practice, the guys were bruised and only slightly bloody; but the boys weren't done with them.

Ivan and Matthew waited until the three had been left behind by the others, then they barricaded the exits. The three took no notice until Ivan spoke up.

“So. I heard you talked to my sister today.” He began, his words echoing loudly in the empty locker room. Matthew leaned against the main exit while Ivan approached from their other side. The leader’s head snapped up, and he stared at Ivan for a short moment.

“H-hey man, we didn't mean anything by it, you hear? I mean, she's not that pretty, we don't wanna mess with her-”

“Oh, you think my sister’s ugly?” Ivan sneered, his gaze darkening. Matthew did his best not to be at least a little amused. He really wasn't one for violence, but the guy had fallen right into Ivan's trap.

Ivan slammed him against the wall while the other two watched them in horror. #2 nudged #3’s arm and they made a break for the door Matthew was by. Before the two knew what had happened, Matthew clotheslined them with his hockey stick.

“Don't think you can run away from this.” He said, grabbing one of them by the collar. The one guy mumbled something that sounded like a very weak apology, and he joined his friend against the lockers. The two captains grabbed all three of them, and crowded them against the cold metal lockers.

“Here’s the deal,” Ivan growled, his eyes flashing angrily. “You talk to Natalya again, you’re dead. You look at her, you’re dead. You breathe in her area, you are dead. Capiche?”

Two out of the three nodded as blood leaked out of #3’s nose. #1 stared defiantly back at Ivan. “If you kill one of us, the others will tell the police, you’ll go to jail, and no one will protect her.”

Ivan’s hand easily wrapped around his neck, and he lifted him off the ground. #1 struggled, his eyes bugging out and his hands clawing at his neck. “You won’t tell.”

#1 nodded weakly, his face turning an ugly shade of purple; and Ivan let go, letting him drop to the ground with a thud. “I was going to beat you three bloody, but I’ve decided against it. It would be too obvious, yes? Someone would ask questions. Now scram before I don’t care what people think.”

When #1 paused for a moment before he got up, Ivan slammed his fist against the locker. “Now, asshole! Get moving before I help you!”

There was no hesitation left after Ivan’s outburst, and #1 ran out the locker room door. Matthew sighed, thankful he hadn’t been forced to beat anyone up. No doubt, he’d do it; he just didn’t really like the moral complications it caused him.

“No lie, Ivan, I thought you were actually going to kill one of them.” Matthew said, shaking his head a little bit.

Ivan scoffed a bit. “Natalya and Katyusha wouldn’t have been very happy with me, Matthew. I cannot leave my sisters.”

Matthew shrugged, seeing his point. “Fair enough. Let's get going, ok?”

Ivan nodded, and followed Matthew out of the locker room. He glanced down at his phone briefly, and grinned. “You're in luck, Matthew! Katyusha has made a cake! I believe it's to cheer Nat up, but I'm sure she will spare us some.”

Matthew smiled a little and shook his head, “Alright, as long as Nat doesn't kill me in my sleep for stealing some of her cake.”

* * *

Natalya wasn't that surprised when Ivan came home with Matthew in tow. She saw Matthew more and more frequently now that him and her brother were both captain.

“You want cake, don't you,” she said as soon as she caught the look in their eyes. Both boys nodded eagerly, and she began cutting them reasonable sized slices.

“We deserve some,” Ivan declared. “Especially after scaring the hell out of those three creeps.”

Matthew eyes Natalya warily as she frowned, but handed them the plates.

“Thanks,” She said quietly, and finished her own piece of cake.

Everyone ate in an unnerving silence, punctuated by the screeching scrape of forks against porcelain dishware.

“Oh, haha, look at the time!”, Matthew exclaimed with a nervous chuckle, and pushed back his chair. “I really have to get home before my curfew-”

“Matthew! Natalya, why didn't you tell me Matthew was here?”, Katyusha popped into the room and scolded her younger sister, who merely rolled her eyes.

“Katyusha, Matthew is here.”

“But he's about to leave!”, she sighed, shaking her head a bit. “Sorry, Matthew, I was working on a project.”

“It’s fine, Katyusha, I'll catch you next time,” Matthew promised, and opened the front door.

Natalya hesitated a moment, and grabbed the door right as he was closing it. “Matthew, tell Alfred...tell Alfred I'm sorry.”

Matthew gave her a puzzled look, but nodded a little bit. “Sure Nat, I'll make sure to tell him. See you tomorrow.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Matthew headed home from Natalya and Ivan’s house, his mind swimming with questions. He told himself he’d ask Alfred what had happened between them when he got home and turned the radio up louder.

With his mind still reeling in confusion, Matthew remembered something from middle school. He had been heading to English, a class he had with Arthur, Alfred, and Natalya.

However, just as he had turned the corner to the classroom, Natalya had run past him. He didn’t think much of it then, but it _was_ rather odd that she hadn’t come back to class the rest of the year (which, in reality, was only two or three more days). As a matter of a fact, all the days after that one, Natalya had started ignoring Alfred more and more. 

* * *

 Matthew reached the house and unlocked the front door,“Alfred? You here?”

A faint shuffling could be heard from the kitchen and Matthew noticed light spilling out from under the door. He pushed open the kitchen door and blinked at the sudden bright fluorescents.

Alfred was wearing his pajamas and eating a massive bowl of cereal, all while frantically texting on his phone.

Matthew glanced down at his watch, and sighed, “Al, it’s 11:30,” he grumbled and grabbed the cereal box.

Alfred looked up as Matthew scolded him and took a big bite of cereal, “Why were you out so late? You’re usually back by 10.”

Matthew grabbed a bowl and the milk carton, and made himself a bowl, “Practice ran late for Ivan and I...and those three assholes.”

Alfred paused, staring at Matthew in slight surprise. “Didja beat them up?”, he asked, taking another large bite.

“Nah, Ivan scared them,” but after a pause, Matthew continued, “He _did_ choke one of them, though. I thought he was actually going to kill him.”

Alfred snorted in his cereal, and checked his phone. “It took that long for you guys to scare ‘em?”

“Ivan invited me over for cake. Katyusha made it for Nat.” Matthew said nonchalantly as he took a bite of his own cereal.

His brother frowned a bit, and dumped the rest of his bowl in the sink. “Hmph. Did she seem okay?”

“Yeah, Nat’s fine. She, uh, told me to tell you that she was sorry,” Matthew followed up, checking his own phone in the process.

Alfred paused, his frown deepening at the message from Natalya. “Sorry about what?”

Matthew shrugged, “She just told me to tell you she was sorry. Oh, and Al? Do you remember ever saying anything...anything about Nat in middle school? Like, a bad thing.”

Alfred shook his head immediately. “No. Never. She just started hating me one day, if that’s what you’re implying.” His words were bitter and Alfred exited the kitchen after saying good night.

Matthew finished his cereal and took a shower, Before he went to bed, he peeked in on Alfred, who was fast asleep. His phone screen glowed brilliantly in the dark room and Matthew took a few steps closer. Alfred had been texting Gil, one of his football buddies.

* * *

 Gil: dude just ask her out or smth

Gil: u n nat have been fighting for ages just apologize

Al: what would i apologize for tho & maybe she won’t want to

Al: that’s like getting rejected twice i can’t do it man

* * *

 Matthew sighed and turned off the phone, plugged it into the bedside charger, and went to bed.

* * *

Natalya’s alarm blared loudly, the obnoxious beeping drawing her from her warm cocoon of blankets. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes as she stared into the mirror.

“Game day.” She muttered disdainfully, and Natalya took a shower.

When she got out she found her uniform on her bedroom door along with a sticky note from Katyusha (it had a smiley face drawn onto it). She changed into it and blow-dried her hair.

Throughout all these daily tasks, her thoughts kept circling back to Alfred; what he said that day in eighth grade, how their relationship had been the past three years, and how he had helped her yesterday.

The feeling she got when Alfred had held onto her protectively was branded into her mind. He had made her feel safe, and the way she was thinking about him made her uneasy.

“Ivan, are you riding with me?”, she asked, grabbing her phone and “her” car keys. Liza hadn’t been able to drop off her bag the previous night, so Natalya had to go to school early to pick it up.

Her brother stuck his head out of the kitchen, a bagel in his mouth and one clutched in each hand. He gave her a muffled answer that sounded quite similar to “Yes, please”.

She sighed and waited for him to grab his hockey bag. He followed her out to the car, easily hauling the Natalya-sized duffle bag over his shoulder.

“You know this is _our_ car, right? Not just yours.”, Ivan pointed out as Natalya got behind the wheel.

“You’re six minutes older than me, Ivan. Let me do things,” she grumbled. Her brother grinned.

“Fine, fine. You just get to suffer through the smell of my hockey gear in _your_ backseat,” Ivan replied, and Natalya rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, asshole.”

* * *

 The parking lot was jam-packed, as usual, and Natalya struggled to find a parking spot.

After what felt like ages of searching, she finally found a parking spot next to an obnoxiously big, red pick-up truck.

As she got out of the car, her keys fell out of her lap. They jangled as they hit the pavement, and Natalya closed her car door with a slight frown. As Ivan got out of the car on the other side, she bent down to pick them up.

Meanwhile, while Natalya was picking up her keys, Alfred was opening the passenger door to Matthew’s red pick-up truck.

As he opened it, he heard a rather odd sounding clunk, and then a thump. His eyes widened in horror as he saw Natalya fall to the ground.

Ivan’s furious face appeared to be inches from Alfred and in an instant, the world was spinning. He stumbled back with his ears ringing from Ivan’s solid punch.

It took Matthew and two teachers to pull Ivan away, and another came back to get Natalya.

“I’ll carry her,” Alfred said gruffly and the teacher eyed him warily. “What? I hit her, I may as well help her.”

The teacher shrugged and left. Alfred scooped Natalya up and easily carried the small girl to the Nurse’s office.

* * *

 Natalya awoke with an aching head, and abruptly sat up. The first thing she noticed was that her car keys were gone; the second was that Alfred was sitting next to her cot.

“Where the fuck are my car keys?”, she demanded immediately, glancing at the offensive visitor.

Alfred held an ice pack to his cheek and sullenly fished her keys out of his pocket. “Well hello to you too, sunshine.”

Natalya snatched the keys away and frowned, “What happened to _your_ ugly mug?”

“Your brother punched me when I knocked you out with my car door,” he admitted, but scowled a little as well.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a few minutes, until Alfred broke it.

“Wanna eat lunch with me?”, he asked suddenly, staring at a fixed point on the wall. “Matthew said it was the least I could do after knocking you out.”

Natalya shook her head firmly. “Don’t wanna.”

“C’mon, Mattie would kill me if I didn’t make it up to you some way.” Alfred huffed angrily and glared at the girl. “Let me take you out to eat or something.”

“That’s worse,” she scoffed, checking her phone absentmindedly.

“It’s either that or eating with the football players. No if, ands, or buts. I’m making it up to you for Matthew, not your sake,” he growled, grabbing her wrists and forcing her to look at him. 

Natalya yanked her arms away with an angry glare, “Tch. Whatever, fine. For Matt’s sake.”

Alfred relaxed back in his seat, and got up after a moment. A faint smirk ghosted over his face as he left. “Tonight, 8 o'clock. It’s a date.

A string of spluttered curses could be heard from the infirmary as Alfred snickered down the hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is!! i'm actually gonna change the update date to saturday for this and sunday for my FraBela, because I always end up getting busy on friday nights haha

After the football game that evening, Alfred booked it home to get ready for his date. He took a quick shower and hummed to himself happily.

Alfred had scored the winning touchdown and now he had a date with a hot,yet infuriating cheerleader/ex-best friend. It was...an incredibly odd feeling. Before football games, Alfred would get all jittery and become a ball of nervous energy. This was different kind of jittery. Going on a date with a girl who has hated you for the past four years of your life is extremely different, and _extremely_ terrifying. For all Alfred knew, Natalya would try and poison him and make it look like an accident. She was the “Bitch Queen”, and never let her victims get away easily.

With a gulp, he tugged on a nice-ish shirt and combed his hair as neat as he could.

* * *

 Meanwhile, Natalya sat on her bed and stared blankly at her closet. She had no clue what to wear and was growing more and more stressed by the minute. Play it casual with jeans and a blouse? Nah. Perhaps a sweet dress with a floral pattern? Too girly. There's always that tight black dress--

Definitely not.

In the end, she pulled out a skirt and blouse and paired it with some nice flats. She felt weird as she fixed her hair and put on makeup. A date. With Alfred Jones. A guy who had taken her eighth grade heart and cruelly smashed it to pieces with only a few sentences.

With a resigned sigh, she went downstairs to wait in the foyer. Ivan walked by and looked at her curiously.

“Why are you so dressed up?” He asked, glancing at her nice outfit.

“I have a date,” Natalya said bluntly and knew he wouldn't like the rest of the sentence,”with Alfred.”

The mug of coffee Ivan was holding slipped out of his hand and shattered upon contact with the hardwood floor. Tea splashed onto Natalya's nice shoes and her legs and she cursed angrily.

“Dammit Ivan, my shoes!” She hissed, grabbing a nearby dish towel from the kitchen and mopping up the tea that had splashed on her legs.

Headlights flashed through the window as Alfred pulled into the driveway, unaware of the turmoil going on inside the Braginsky house.

Ivan's head shot up, and he pushed Natalya onto the couch, and opened the front door. Natalya was momentarily stunned until she realized what he was doing. As soon as it clicked on her mind, she could hear Ivan shouting out the front door.

“Natalya isn't feeling well right now, Alfred. I suggest you go home.”

Natalya sprang up, grabbed a pair of dry shoes, and shoved past Ivan.

“Bye.” She said firmly and glared at her brother. Bounding down to the truck rumbling in the driveway, one of her bare feet hit a sharp rock. With a small cry, she limped to the car. Ivan watched her solemnly, and watched them drive away with a furious expression.

Natalya let out a heavy sigh, and ran her fingers through her hair. “Hey.”

Alfred raised an eyebrow in faint amusement, “Hi there. Is your foot ok?”

Natalya glanced down and realized that she was bleeding a little bit. “Shit, sorry.”

“It's no big deal,” Alfred said upon the sight of the blood. “There should be bandaids and alcohol wipes in the glove compartment.”

Natalya cleaned up her foot as Alfred drove, but other than the faint country music on the radio and small hisses of pain from Natalya, the car ride was silent.

Upon arrival, Natalya noted that the place was extremely fancy, but it wasn’t fast food...more of a casual place, much to her relief.

The dinner was awkward, to say the least. It started out with them ordering their drinks, nothing too bad. When it got to the food, they accidentally ordered the same thing.

Dinner was silent, and they only started to make small talk after they had finished their food. Alfred’s awkward cough turned to a risky question and everything went to shit from there.

“So why’d you start hating me?”, Alfred asked, his voice low. He was staring into his water glass with furrowed brows and a slight frown twisting his lips. It was all he had been thinking about for the past hour,no the past four years, with Natalya, and knew he couldn’t put off the question any longer.

* * *

The world came to a whirling stop around Natalya and she paused, mid drink. Setting down the glass carefully, Natalya folded her hands in her lap.

Her voice held a certain quiet anger,”You don’t remember?”

“No...what do you mean?” Alfred asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Eighth grade. You were talking to Arthur about me in English. I remember it _perfectly_ because you said I was pathetic and that you felt bad for me. You broke my heart, Alfred,” She paused a moment, and looked up at him. Her eyes were blazing with anger that she didn’t bother concealing. “You ruined my life with those words. I’m over you now, I could care less, but I can never trust _anyone_ ever again because of you.”

Alfred's initial shock morphed to anger, and soon his blue eyes matched hers. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything?!” He furiously demanded.

His anger surprised Natalya a bit, but she refused to back down.

“Why would I tell someone that ripped my feelings to shreds that I heard them do it, and I hated them!?” She fumed and stood up so quickly that her chair screeched backwards. Natalya was grateful that the restaurant was almost empty. She stormed away, her thoughts whirling.

How had he not _known_?! She had assumed he knew what he had done, but the fact that he was so stupidly oblivious enraged her more.

“Natalya, where the hell are you going?” He demanded, dropping some cash on the table,jogging after her.

“I’m walking home, you asshole!”, she hissed, her arms folded around her small frame to conserve warmth. It was colder than she expected outside, and she let out a soft, sharp gasp when she left the building.

With an aggravated sigh, Alfred grabbed her arm, “Let me at least drive you home.”

She tore away from him, her eyes still ablaze. “You’re dumb, so no. I’ll walk.”

“That’s nearly 7 miles, Natalya! You’re crazy!”, he snapped, grabbing her upper arm and beginning to drag her to his car, “I’m driving you home.”

She began to struggle, and tried to get him to release her. “Let go of me, Alfred! I’ll scream if you don’t!”

Unfortunately for her, Alfred knew he was doing her good by forcefully giving her a ride home instead of leaving the petite girl to walk seven miles, alone, and in the middle of the night.

As Alfred opened the door to his car, and tried to force her instead, a car pulled up beside them. A man got out, and started yelling at Alfred. He had a thick accent that Alfred couldn’t put his finger on, and he sounded a little familiar.

Running towards them, the man passed under a streetlight. Natalya’s struggles paused for a moment as she stared at him in shock. 

“You goddamn idiot, let go of her!” The man growled, grabbing Alfred and throwing him off of Natalya. 

The man’s face passed under a streetlight once more as he helped Natalya from the car, and they both paused.

“Lovino...why are you here?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH BOY I am so sorry haha I got swamped with sports and work and suddenly there no time??? Idk it's Halloween time and there are parties like every weekend and I suck lol
> 
> I'm also working on a Halloween story! Warning tho haha it's like not fluffy halloween stuff, this'll be straight up character death and angst and horror and gore
> 
> back to my roots yo
> 
> anyways, enjoy more drama!!

“What the hell are you doing here, Lovino?” Natalya asked him, her eyes filled with a furious, yet puzzled kind of anger.

“I got kicked out of boarding school,” Lovino grinned a little, his tone light and cheery in contrast to his words as he leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek.

Meanwhile, a fuming Alfred Jones rose from the pavement, a lightly bleeding scrape present on the side of his head. He clenched his fist as the world was bathed in a faint red glow.

Lovino’s obnoxiously romantic actions made his blood boil in fury, and he paid no attention to Natalya shrieking for Alfred to stop as he reared back his fist and aimed at the idiotic Italian’s perfect brunette head.

Lovino darted to the right at the last minute, so Alfred’s fist hit the truck, leaving a dent right next to Natalya’s head. Her eyes were wide and frightened, and she backed up until she hit the truck with a weak thump.

Natalya felt sick and scared, and didn’t remember the last time she had seen Alfred this angry. She found herself shaking a bit, and immediately gravitated towards Lovino. Lovino held her to his chest, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

Alfred’s angry expression melted slightly when he saw how scared Natalya was of his anger. He reached a hand out to pat her on the shoulder or make some gesture to show her he wasn’t mad at  _ her _ .

She flinched.

That flinch started a hairline fracture in Alfred’s heart, and he felt himself grow angry again. He was angry at the fact that Natalya was scared of him, angry that Lovino had come at the right moment, and angry that Natalya was angry at him.

Before he could try to inflict anymore pain on Lovino, that damn Italian was leading a visibly shaken up Natalya to his fancy black sports car.

“See you at school, Alfred.”

Alfred stood with clenched fists in the parking lot as Lovino zoomed away with Natalya in the passenger’s seat. Her eyes didn’t meet his. She didn’t even say goodbye.

* * *

Alfred couldn’t believe him.

The  _ nerve _ Lovino had to smirk at  _ him. Him  _ of all people. Lovino’s words rang in Alfred’s mind as a taunting reminder of the events that had just transpired.

_ “See you at school, Alfred.” _

Alfred sat down on the curb outside of the restaurant, his head resting in his hands. A couple walked out of the restaurant, chatting and laughing happily. They walked by Alfred as if he were invisible, and he wished he was.

Alfred didn’t know how the night could get any better. He had found out that Natalya hated him because he messed up big time in eighth grade, and he hated himself for screwing up royally.

With a resigned sigh, he got back into his truck and drove home with the blood from his scrape dripping down his face. He didn’t care anymore.

* * *

“How’d the date go?”, Matthew asked as Alfred shuffled through the front door.

When Alfred didn’t respond, Matthew walked into the kitchen to find him holding a wad of tissues to the dude if his head . Alfred’s shirt was piled on the kitchen counter that he was sullenly leaning against.

“...Did Nat do that?”, Matthew asked with a rather unamused look, yet he seemed not to surprised by this apparent outcome.

“No. Lovino showed up out of nowhere while we were fighting and swept her off her damn feet,” Alfred said angrily, his words muffled with anger and frustration.

Matthew rolled his eyes. “Why were you guys fighting in the first place?”

Alfred’s anger softened slightly and he looked a little sheepish. “She told me why she hated me. And I sorta got angry because she didn’t tell me before,”

“So you were an idiot and she hates you again?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alfred hesitated a little, “Yeah, pretty much.”

* * *

Lovino had been Natalya’s boyfriend in her sophomore year of highschool. He was foreign, handsome, and had less than ten friends. He was perfect for a grumpy loner like Natalya, who rarely associated with anyone outside of the cheer squad.

At the end of the year, the Vargas brothers were sent to an exclusive boarding school overseas in their home country of Italy. Most people didn’t quite know why, but Natalya certainly did. 

Lovino had gotten into a fight with Ivan after leaving too much...evidence on her body of their intense makeout sessions. Ivan had flown into a rage and trucked Lovino halfway across the parking lot.

Unfortunately for Ivan, Lovino’s family had invested in Kick Jitsu lessons for both boys. Kick Jitsu was an Italian created fighting style that combines kickboxing and jiu jitsu.

Ivan had gotten his ass royally whooped by Natalya's boyfriend, but unfortunately for Lovino, somehow managed to pull off playing the victim when the teacher caught Lovino kicking Ivan in the stomach. He was suspended, but Lovino’s family was furious at their son and sent  _ both _ back home.

And now, he was back, and Natalya was in his car and trying to not kiss him again like she used to.

“Thanks...Lovino,” Natalya murmured as they pulled up to her house.

His normally harsh gaze softened at her words and he got out of the car. Natalya climbed out as well and made sure she had her purse. She glanced up to see Lovino standing about a foot away. Her heart jumped in her throat as she stared back down at her feet and  remembered the heated makeout sessions under the bleachers during sophomore year.

“I missed you,” she mumbled, not daring to meet his eyes.

“I missed you too, Natalya.”, he said, and took a step closer. After a moment's hesitation, Lovino pressed a kiss to her forehead as she stared at him with wide doe eyes and a flustered blush. Natalya was greeted with the nostalgic scent of Lovino’s weird detergent combined with the olive oil lotion he used, and she let out a soft sigh.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” She asked, chewing her lip with a frown.

“Yep. You got a number, right?” Lovino asked, pulling out his new phone. “I’ll text you my schedule,”

She gladly typed in her number and bid him good night with a quick kiss to his cheek.

* * *

When Natalya got inside, Ivan seemed strangely satisfied.

“How was the ride home with Alfred?” Her brother asked with a faint smile. He took a bite of his pizza and continued staring at the television.

“It’s complicated, but I got a ride home with Lovino,” Natalya said, frowning a little and stealing a slice from Ivan’s plate.

“Lovino? I thought he moved away!” Ivan exclaimed, his grin widening.

“Me too…” She muttered, and threw her coat over a chair. “I’m heading to bed, good night Ivan,”

“Night Natalya!”, he chirped, and she trudged upstairs.

* * *

It took Natalya ages to fall asleep. Truth be told, she was a little in love with Alfred. She remembered him protecting her when they were in kindergarten. She also remember when she grew taller than him in middle school, and their roles were switched. He probably got more shit from people because he had a girl fighting for him, but Natalya didn't realize that.

It broke her heart in two pieces when she had heard his words to Arthur. She'd forgiven him, but at the same time, she hadn't. They were in middle school, and middle schoolers are known for saying dumb things. She forgave him for the words, but she hadn't forgiven him for how much the words had hurt her.

Natalya rolled onto her side. She had been elated for the date, and she was sure her siblings hadn't seen her that happy in awhile. Obviously, Ivan was against it more than Katyusha was. All had been well until they fought, and then Lovino was there and just-

Everything was a mess.


End file.
